


To Build A New Family

by Facade_Expert



Series: Building [3]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Child Neglect, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Insecure Tony, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Child Abuse, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Pre-Slash, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, Team as Family, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-09-25 08:47:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9811883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Facade_Expert/pseuds/Facade_Expert
Summary: So... this letting in people thing. It's a lot to get used to.It was hard.It was worth it.Maybe, just maybe, there was a family to be built here.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo... I'm back :) *waves nervously* 
> 
> I was going back and forth about whether to include the latest movies but I realised that I'd have to change too many of my plans so... no. This series will not be Age of Ultron compliant. Not will it be Civil War compliant or Captain America 2 compliant for that matter. I had most of these plans written before any of those came out. 
> 
> I am shamelessly stealing the Bruce/Natasha ship as a side pairing though, on the basis that it was too cute not to work in, so look forward to that. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy.

 

_"If you loved me how you said you did you would have changed for me."_

 

But Tony _had_ changed. He'd been in a cave being tortured and his life had come into all kinds of perspective.

 

He saw what his weapons were doing.

 

He saw the people he was killing, the people he was _helping_ and even though he hadn't known about it, his weapons were still the ones doing this. His inventions were still killing people.

 

And it came into sharp focus.

 

What he actually wanted to do in life.

 

He'd always wanted to change the world. It was Howard that had convinced him that the only way to do that was to fight it out.

 

But none of that logic would do him any good if he didn't get out of this cave.

 

And that didn't seem very likely right now.

 

Air. He needed Air.

 

Water was all around him, swirling and dirty and all encompassing. It was in his nose, down his throat, in his eyes no matter how tightly he shut them.

 

His eyes _stung_.

 

He was _freezing,_ shivering and covered in dirt convinced he'd never be warm again.

 

So many things he'd never get to do, never get to see, or invent.

 

He’d never see JARVIS again, or Dummy.

 

So many things he needed to atone for but none of that mattered because he was going to die here, in the dark surrounded by chocking dirty water-

 

"Tony."

 

Huh?

 

That voice didn't belong here.

 

"Tony, you're okay, it's just a dream. You're okay."

 

Tony shot up in bed gasping for breath, there was a hand on his back an instant later, rubbing circles between his shoulder blades. He clutched fistfuls of sheets, trying to ground himself.

 

"Huh? What?" he gasped, trying to shake off the hand, still half asleep and convinced that hand was going to put him under again. It was at the back of his neck, pressing down, _down._ But that didn’t make any sense because no one else was supposed to be here and somehow he _knew_ that voice was safe.

 

"It's okay, it's just me. You're safe." Someone tried to sooth.

 

So why were they trying to put him back in the water?

 

"Tony?" the voice asked.

 

"Neck, bad." Tony managed to gasp out.

 

"Christ! Shit! Sorry!" the person yelped and the arm was slinking around his waist instead and pulling him close to their side. "Better?"

 

Tony's breathing was slowing down, the freezing Afghani water was fading.

 

And then he realised that Clint Fucking Barton was basically cuddling into his side comforting him like a _scared little child_.

 

"M'fine piss off Barton." he snapped. Clint snorted, not moving an inch.

 

"The gratitude." he snarked. Tony flinched. "Look, I was in the air vents and I heard you. I couldn't just leave you there. Wherever you were."

 

"Get. Off. Me. Barton." Tony snapped, no matter how touched he was that Clint had helped. That there was a warm, grounding solid body that he trusted pulling him back to reality and calming him tremendously.

 

"Okay, Tony, easy." Clint placated and tried to move away.

 

Tony says try because the second he felt the archer move Tony's damn needy pathetic reflexes kicked in and pulled Clint back.

 

"Getting mixed signals here dude." Clint quipped, Tony grimaced.

 

He'd let go any second now.

 

Any second.

 

"I'm trying." Tony snapped, having a silent argument with his shaky body. He didn't need this. Not after Thor and Steve today, he didn't need anyone else knowing just how pathetic he was.

 

"Do not make yourself pull away from something you need you stubborn idiot." Clint snapped.

 

Tony flinched.

 

Okay, perhaps Clint did already know. Perhaps he and Natasha could read people the same way?

 

“I… I…” Tony tried to say- what? Thank you for listening? For being there? For not letting Tony push him away?

 

“You’re okay, Tony.” Clint soothed pulling Tony down so they were both lying on his bed. Clint fitted himself into Tony’s side

 

“Are- are we- are you _spooning_ me Barton?” Tony spluttered, feeling his face flushed and he ducked his face so Clint couldn’t see.

 

“You want me to stop?” Clint challenged, pulling the covers over them both. Tony bit his lip.

 

“No.” he admitted in a whisper. Fuck, could he sound any more _pathetic_?

 

“Then shut up and go back to sleep.”

 

“I dunno…” Tony hedged. Could he ask that of Clint? Wasn’t this too much?

 

“I’ll be right here.” Clint comforted.

 

“Great, I’ll wake you up too.” Tony snapped. Clint hit him lightly on the chest.

 

“I want to be here, Tony, Go to sleep.”

 

Really?

 

Clint _wanted_ to be here?

 

“i… don’t…” Tony couldn’t go back there, not tonight. Once was enough, wasn’t it? Clint rubbed his chest firmly, careful not to brush the arc reactor.

 

“If it happens again we’ll get up and watch WALL-E. Deal?”

 

“You hate WALL-E.” Tony felt the need to point out.

 

“Do we have a deal or what?” Clint persisted. Tony snorted.

 

“Alright, I’ll try.”

 

And what do you know? He slept through the night.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey :D thanks for all your words of encouragement, they have helped me along greatly.

***

 

Tony got why there were board meetings. He even got why he needed to _attend_ board meetings. However: that did not make board meetings fun. But just because he was bored (ha! never heard that pun before) did not mean he was secretly wishing a giant robot would appear and punch the nearest sky scraper. The whole top half of the building crumpled like a sandcastle. Thanks to the soundproofing of his building no one else had actually _noticed_ and hey, that should go up on a billboard somewhere: “Stark soundproofing: Can’t hear giant robots terrorising your city.”

 

But he digresses.

 

The main point right now is that there is a giant robot killing people outside his window so…

 

“If you’ll excuse me gentlemen.” Tony said, silently calling his armour around him and getting to his feet. It was going to be hell piloting the suit in a tie and shirt on a hot day like this. Oh well. JARVIS, bless his little digital heart, had opened the conference room window so Tony wouldn’t break any glass.

 

This time.

 

Without further ado, suit only half formed, he dropped out the window.

 

Well _that_ was a dramatic exit, even for Tony. And he hadn’t even been doing it on purpose.

 

This time.

 

“Avengers comm has patched through Sir.” JARVIS informed him, and Tony grinned. JARVIS was anticipating, he was so _proud_.

 

Cough.

 

Right.

 

Back on point.

 

“Hey guys, I have a giant robot two blocks from SI literally punching buildings to the ground.”

 

“ETA two minutes.” Cap replied. Tony frowned, did the rest of the team get called in without him? Question for another time.

 

“JARVIS is sending you footage. It… it looks like… How many of you have seen the Iron Giant?” Tony asked, flying closer and darting around the robot’s head

 

“You’re kidding.” Clint deadpanned.

 

“Nope.” Tony circled it once more, dodging the hand that came up with surprising speed for something so large to swat him away like a fly. “I’m gonna try and move this thing away from people.” He dodged again and the robot tried to swipe with the other hand. Tony fired a repulser shot at one of its joints… which did absolutely nothing… Except piss the hunk of metal off. Perfect.

 

“Good Ironman.” Steve replied “See if you can analyse and figure out how to shut it off.”

 

“Scanning as we speak.” Tony assured Steve baiting the robot away from an apartment building.

 

“Greetings, Anthony!” Thor boomed, flying past Tony clutching Clint to his side.

 

“Hi!” Tony called back, firing more repulsers to get the robot to turn left.

 

“Will an EMP work on this thing?” Clint called as Thor landed him on a nearby roof.

 

“For something this big? It would also knock out seven or eight hospitals including their generators and, you know, little ol’ me.” Tony answered, looking through the data as it appeared on his HUD screen. Thank you JARVIS.

 

“Let’s not do that then.” Natasha quipped, Tony could just make her out near the robot’s feet, firing at its ankles. “Call me sentimental Stark, but I like you alive.” Tony coughed.

 

“I can’t see its power source, but my educated guess says decapitating it should help.” Tony reported, twirling around the Giant’s head yet again, keeping a critical eye on the neck connecters.

 

“Will waiting for the scans make that less of a guess?” Steve asked.

 

“Yeah, but this thing’s not local. Could take a few minutes. Do we have a few minutes?” Tony pointed out, just as the robot, as if on cue, kicked another apartment building causing the entire thing to collapse into a pile of rubble.

 

“No.” Steve admitted with a wince.

 

The robot made to right hook a business block and Clint shot an arrow at its elbow, leaving a frustrating lack of mark or damage, but made the robot miss its target.

 

“Would electrocuting it help Man of Iron?” Thor asked, flying past holding his hammer out enthusiastically.

 

“I- maybe. Probably.” Tony amended, flying as close as he dared to the robot’s face again. He could see some of the inner wiring in the ‘eye’. He felt himself be jerked back by the scruff of his neck making the robot’s punch miss him.

 

“Careful Shield Brother.” Thor warned “Not too close.”

 

“But robots are so shiny!” Tony fake whined, pulling away from Thor and bringing up the data that JARVIS had just sent him. Clint laughed.

 

“Tony, as much as we all love you, you are _not_ allowed to die because you were distracted by a shiny robot.” Tony couldn’t help freezing in mid air, his heart hammering. Now WAS NOT the time to panic about _anything_ , especially-

 

“TONY LOOK OUT!” Steve roared, but it was too late. The robot caught Tony by surprise, he felt a ginormous force to his back that sent him careening through a building. And when the building began to fall, well, that’s when Tony passed out.

 

***

 

The sound of a heart rate monitor beeping steadily greeted him when he woke up.

 

“Ooowww.” Tony groaned, more out of stiffness than of actual pain. He blinked his eyes open slowly and the world came into focus. There was a drip attached to his arm. Great. So he _did_ have pain to look forward to later. Awesome.

 

Wait.

 

A drip.

 

The rest of the room came into better focus and shit.

 

He was in SHIELD medical.

 

Shit.

 

Tony clutched at his chest reflexively and relaxed as his fingertips hit the metal edge of his reactor.

 

So much for his request to be taken to SI medbay if he was knocked unconscious.

 

He had a doctor on 24 hour call and everything.

 

“J-JARVIS!” Tony gasped, his voice breaking, sore and dry from misuse.

 

“Easy Tony.” a soft deep voice soothed. A straw appearedin his line of vision and Tony accepted it gladly. Trusting the voice half a second before he realised it was Bruce. Tony swallowed the water gratefully, then tried to speak again.

 

“JARVIS.” he insisted.

 

“We’re not in the tower, Tony, he can’t hear you.” Bruce explained. Tony shook his head.

 

“No. Gimme a phone. I need to talk to JARVIS.” Bruce frowned in concern.

 

“You’re awake, I should really call a doctor.” he hedged. Tony shook his head again.

 

“No SHIELD doctor is getting _near_ me before I talk to JARVIS.” Tony grit out. Bruce blinked in surprise, then handed Tony his StarkPhone.

 

“J, sweetie, gimme the stats.” Tony said towards the microphone, not even calling a number or unlocking the phone. He didn’t need to. The device instantly turned into a JARVIS portal and his clear cut tone was music to Tony’s ears.

 

“Every piece of the suit is in the workshop and accounted for, Sir. The workshop is in complete lockdown Everyone has their backups in their pre-decided locations. The arc reactor has not been tampered with or touched-“

 

“Tony we wouldn’t have let anyone-” Bruce cut in, but JARVIS kept talking regardless:

 

“You have been unconscious for approximately two days, eleven hours and twenty minutes-“

 

“What?” Tony gasped, sitting up further in bed and wincing at how stiff he was.

 

“To be fair, Tony, an entire building fell on you.” Bruce interjected.

 

“Colonel Rhodes has been able to visit the workshop daily in your stead. Everyone is being well cared for Sir.” JARVIS continued. Tony relaxed slightly into his hospital bed. His ‘bots were safe and backed up, his suit had not been intercepted.

 

“Thanks JARVIS.” Tony said with a sigh, sipping more of his water.

 

“You have acquired a concussion, several broken ribs, a broken right leg and my astonishment that those were your only injuries.” JARVIS concluded. Tony grinned.

 

“Can I get a doctor in here now?” Bruce asked.

 

“One sec.” Tony delayed holding up a hand. He looked at the security camera. “Can you see me J?”

 

“Always, Sir.” JARVIS assured him.

 

“Is my doctor safe?”

 

“Tony-” Bruce began, his frown intensifying.

 

“I assure you Sir, if he was not he would have been promptly and swiftly replaced.”

 

“Really?” Tony asked, actually caught by surprise.

 

“Dr. Wallace has been treating you for two days Sir. I assure you he has been watched closely and checked thoroughly. As was anyone who entered this room, or indeed the building.” Tony couldn’t help grinning like a proud parent, he had told JARVIS to monitor him, certainly, but this kind of initiative and detail was all JARVIS.

 

“Way to take initiative, buddy, thanks.” Tony complimented, relaxing more into the sheets. JARVIS had things well in hand it seems. “Okay, you can get the Doc now.” Tony allowed. Bruce stared at him intently for a moment, as if assessing him, reached over to press Tony’s assistance button, then settled back down to wait.

 

Tony looked around his dull beige room, taking in more detail.

 

“Where is everyone?” he asked sheepishly, then felt his face heat slightly for asking. He looked away. Why was he asking? He shouldn’t be expecting the entire Avengers Initiative to sit around his bedside like he was dying.

 

Bruce smiled gently, reached over and took Tony’s hand. It was too warm.

 

Too comforting.

 

“It’s four in the morning, Tony. We only have one person on the night shift.” Oh yeah, Tony remembered most recently from when Clint came back from a side mission with a sprained knee. But… somehow he hadn’t connected that with Bruce actually being here at four in the morning.

 

A balding man in a lab coat bustled into the room, clipboard in hand.

 

“Good, you’re awake.” he said, sounding relieved. “How do you feel Mr. Stark?”

 

“Like I got beat up by a building.” Tony groaned, he _ached._ Not as much as he would have without painkillers he had no doubt, but he still felt too stiff to move.

 

“Well that’s not too far from the truth.” Bruce quipped. “Had to get the other guy to dig you out.” Tony winced.

 

“Sorry about that.” he knew Bruce wasn’t comfortable with his giant green alter ego yet. Bruce, much to Tony’s amazement, smiled.

 

“He likes saving his Shellhead.” Tony couldn’t hold back a bark of laughter. “He heard Cap call you that and it stuck apparently.”

 

Tony grinned.

 

He could definitely live with that.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello :) I love this story and will try and update with some semblance of frequency, but I just got a new job so I make no promises. 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy
> 
> Mild warnings for child neglect in this chapter, but nothing graphic.

So having teammates who cared about him had a downside:

 

No signing out AMA and retreating to his workshop.

 

“It’s just a week or two.” Steve had tried to placate, taking Tony’s hand. “And we’ll try and make sure someone’s always here, okay?”

 

Tony smiled at Steve, he liked the gesture but… he missed his ‘bots. He was on the verge of trying to articulate that: his need to see them, pet them, be around them like his pets or (who was he kidding) his _kids_.

 

But then haunting words came to mind and he swallowed down the urge.

 

_“They’re toys, Tony, you’re an adult now.”_

 

What if Cap dismissed his feelings? Brushed his ‘bots off as toys when they were far from that like Pepper had? Dummy had been there for him since he was _fourteen_ , his main support and only friend.

 

How did he explain that to anyone?

 

He could at least still talk to JARVIS, but the AI was limited outside the tower.

 

“Hey.” Tony looked towards Clint’s voice from the door to see a fuzzy blonde teddy bear dressed in- was that Ironman armour?- being held up by Clint’s hand, peeking through the open door.

 

Steve burst out laughing.

 

“Where did you get that?” Steve asked, Clint entered the room.

 

“Build-a-Bear has an Avenger’s section now.” Clint said with glee, coming over and plopping the bear down next to Tony on the bed. Tony frowned as he looked at it, not comprehending.

 

“Yes, but why is it here?” Tony asked, poking at the bear, unsure what to do with it. “I mean, don’t get me wrong: I’m glad all the future science geeks and tech kids can get their hands on one but-”

 

He broke off, unsure how to finish.

 

“Tony, you’re a friend of mine in the hospital. Of course I got you something.” Clint murmured, sitting on the bed next to the bear. Tony examined the bear, then looked away.

 

Why did it feel like the bear was _staring_ at him?

 

“Yeah, that’s what flowers and coffee are for. I’m not two.” Tony tried to brush off. He didn’t want to hurt Clint’s feelings by snubbing a gift but… he wasn’t a kid anymore. He didn’t need toys.

 

“Tony, Clint was trying to do something ni-” Steve began, but Clint held up a hand.

 

“And how young do you need to be to have toys, Tony?” Clint asked, far more gently than Tony expected.He frowned and looked back up at Clint’s face, but the SHIELD agent gave nothing away.

 

This felt like a trap somehow.

 

But…

 

He wanted to be honest, even when it wasn’t obvious why he should. To Clint.

 

To the Avengers.

 

“Under three. Why?” he asked, unsure where Clint was going with this. He heard Steve gasp to his right, but he didn’t know why.

 

Why should the age his father deemed him too old for toys be of any importance?

 

He was over it now and at the time…

 

Well, at the time he’d been a stupid child.

 

He’d grown up since then, despite what the media said.

 

Clint coughed and Tony turned his attention back to his friend.

 

Wow.

 

He’d called Clint his friend.

 

In his head, but still.

 

Fuck.

 

“Well, uh, is there any chance, maybe, we could make a new rule?” Clint enquired gently, knocking his hand against Tony’s.

 

This… this was important to Clint somehow.

 

Could Tony get rid of a habit he’d held for over thirty years that he wasn’t too thrilled about to help a friend feel better?

 

Of course he fucking can.

 

“Yeah. Yeah. I can- we can do that.” Tony said with a nod, brushing his hand against Clint’s in return. Clint’s enormous joyful smile was more than worth it.

 

“Great.” Clint sprang to his feet and now that Tony thought about it he was quite impressed that Clint had managed to sit still for even that long without a sniper to mind. “Great, that’s just great… uh…” Clint’s eyes darted between Steve and Tony “I’m gonna give you guys a minute.”

 

“Clint, that’s not necess-” Steve began to object, but Clint had already swept out the door. Steve laughed, Tony smiled, apparently Clint couldn’t even stay in the room after that. Not that Tony could blame him. Emotions had this way of making him want to run too.

 

Sadly, he was in a hospital bed.

 

And now alone with Steve.

 

Oh Tony was _so_ going to make Clint pay for leaving him alone in a hospital bed with Steve.

 

Who was at the same time too far away and not far enough.

 

Steve came closer and took the chair by Tony’s right bedside.

 

“So… cani get you anything?” Steve asked, putting a hand on Tony’s forearm.

 

God Tony wished Steve would hold his hand.

 

Wait:

 

HOLD HIS HAND?!

 

He wasn’t a junior on prom night, where had _that_ come from??

 

“Tony?” Steve asked

 

Right.

 

Focus Tony.

 

“Uh, I don’t-“ Tony coughed and Steve handed him a paper cup of water. Tony took it and swallowed, must be the drugs making him so thirsty. “I don’t think so.” Tony finished. Steve raised an eyebrow at him.

 

“You sure? You seem to want to get out of here pretty fast. Surely there’s _something_ of what you want I can bring to you.”

 

“Yeah, you’re right.” Tony acknowledged. “And if I were in my building, with my doctor in Stark MedBay I would have been able to do that.”

 

“Tony-”

 

“Who brought me here, Steve? Was it you?”

 

“Fury-”

 

“Only chooses my doctor if there isn’t a secure suitable alternative written in my goddamn file.”

 

Steve sat back in his chair in surprise.

 

Good.

 

Steve was surprised, that’s good.

 

“He told me he didn’t know where to take you, that since you were out it was my call. I- I didn’t know about the file, Tony. I’m so sorry.”

 

Tony waved it off.

 

As long as Steve didn’t do it on purpose and JARVIS was watching over him he could live with it.

 

“So… we have to talk.” Steve began.

 

“Hmm?” Tony asked, worry creeping into his bones. Needing to talk was never good. Steve fidgeted.

 

And hesitated.

 

Then fidgeted some more.

 

“Steve, seriously. Spit it out.” Tony encouraged, he _hated_ drawn out affairs.

 

“So…” Steve began again.

 

“Steve!” Tony tried to snap the Cap out of it.

 

“Right. Uh… Your’e not going to be able to fly the suit for a while, you know that right?” Tony nodded, a sudden lump of dread in his throat making talking difficult.

 

Was this it?

 

Was he being tossed aside because he couldn’t put on the suit?

 

“Well, I thought we’d just do our best without you for a while, but Fury…” Steve trailed off, as if not sure how to put the words together. “He seemed to think you wouldn’t mind if we brought in someone else.”

 

Oh.

 

This was…

 

How was this worse somehow?

 

“Oh, wow.” Tony remarked, wondering where on earth Fury got the idea that he wouldn’t mind.

 

More likely the bastard didn’t care.

 

“The guy’s name is…” Steve consulted a scrap of paper he pulled from his pocket. “Colonel James Rhodes.”

 

The lump in Tony’s throat vanished and he felt lighter and dizzy.

 

Rhodey was fine.

 

Rhodey’s first loyalty was to the army, he wouldn’t get comfortable on Tony’s team.

 

Besides.

 

What was a long time friendship for if it wasn’t for not taking each other’s spots?

 

Tony grinned and Steve returned the expression hesitantly.

 

“You got me Rhodey? How could I be anything but thrilled?”

 

“Good.” Steve laughed, relaxing in his seat. His arm slid down and grabbed Tony’s hand.

 

Tony… Tony didn’t mind one bit.

 

Had Steve been worried Tony would feel replaced?

 

There was a minute of silence where all the worry and tension seemed to bleed out of the room. Sure, Tony wouldn’t be active for a while, but Rhodey would keep his spot warm.

 

“If you have a medbay waiting for you I can see about getting you out of here sooner.” Steve broke the silence. Tony perked up in his bed.

 

“Really?” he asked.

 

“As long as you promise to go straight there.” Steve warned. Tony shrugged, he wasn’t planning to go anywhere else anyway, broken leg made him useless in the workshop.

 

It was being under SHIELD’s eyes that made him itch.

 

“Yeah, great.” Tony agreed readily.

 

He was very ready to blow this joint.


End file.
